Lyn Bishop of Kirtland folds and shapes pierogis at Pierogi Palace in Willoughby. Pierogi Palace carries more than 175 varieties of pierogis.

Working quickly, employees at Pierogi Palace in Willoughby stretch handmade noodle dough over mounds of filling and expertly pinch and twist the flavorful packets shut before sending them off to be cooked.

Opened in August 2011, the bright little shop is the main production facility for Pierogi Palace, which has run a permanent stand at the West Side Market since 1995. Before opening the Willoughby location at 36495 Vine St., Kurilenko rented a kitchen on the west side.

Much of its sales come from the West Side Market stall, which was forced to close after a fire broke out in the market in the early morning hours of Jan. 30.

"We didn't get burned, but the stand in front of us did," said Alex Kurilenko, owner of Pierogi Palace. "All of our food got hit with a lot of smoke. We had to throw everything away because everything was covered in black dust."

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Mentor-based cleaning company RestorX MD, which specializes in clearing fire damage, started removing the layers of soot and smoke damage on Feb. 3. Kurilenko said vendors should be allowed to go back into the market by Friday.

Pierogis are traditionally thought of as Polish but are also popular in German and Slovenian cuisines as well. The Willoughby location is still relatively quiet compared to the west side location.

In addition to traditional flavors like potato and cheese and cabbage, Pierogi Palace offers an extensive list of fillings, ranging from vegetarian options to seafood and dessert pierogi.

Inspiration for new variations, like philly cheesesteak or buffalo chicken, come from vacations or great meals, Kurilenko said.

"Anything can be a pierogi," he added.

While paczki (pronounced poonch-key or punch-key), Polish doughnuts filled with custard or fruit filling, are more traditional Fat Tuesday fare in Northeast Ohio, Kurilenko said they sell a lot of pierogis around most holidays, the biggest probably being Easter and Christmas.

Those craving the sweetness of paczki need not fear, local bakeries and grocery stores have been selling the treat in the weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday, traditionally the busiest paczki day.

Euclid's Wojtila's Bakery, 897 E. 222nd St., has a note on it's website to keep an eye out for paczki Tuesday.

Painesville's Gartman Model Bakery, 30 N. State St., estimates they'll sell close to 100 dozen paczki on Fat Tuesday, said Amy Carney, manager. The bakery is open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"We've been taking (paczki) orders since last week," she said. "(Customers) want them early. I would say raspberry is probably the most popular."

Back at Pierogi Palace, Kurilenko said he's looking forward to getting back to the West Side Market on Friday.

"We just had our centennial in November. Now it's all getting cleaned. It'll be great, like a grand re-opening," he said.